PHILLIES' FAB FOUR NOT THE GREATEST

The Phillies’ signing of Cliff Lee is as pleasant a surprise as finding a pull-through parking spot near the mall entrance on the weekend before Christmas.

But let’s hold off on calling the Phillies’ starting pitchers the greatest in baseball history.

See me in four or five years if you want to have the discussion. Only by then will we know if the Phillies’ Big Four rates as the best or maybe even one of the best.

History suggests that the 1993 or 1998 Braves were the best in the past half-century. (We’ll also give a nod to the 1971 Orioles, who had four 20-game winners, but only one of those starters – Jim Palmer – is in the Hall of Fame.)

Both Braves’ staffs had three future Hall of Famers in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. The ’93 team also had a very respectable Steve Avery, who went 18-6 that year, while the ’98 Braves also had Denny Neagle and Kevin Millwood, who combined for 33 wins that season.

Look closely at the Phillies’ Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. None of them are automatics for the Hall of Fame. Halladay and Oswalt have the best resumes so far, while Hamels is unproven as an ace: He is 36-32 over his last three years.

In fact, Oswalt, Hamels and Lee last year combined for 37 wins but had 33 losses. That’s marginally over .500.

You want all-time greats and single-year dominance: The 1993 Braves’ Big Four were 75-33, and each one pitched at least 223 innings. The five starters on the ’98 Braves combined for 88 wins with just 37 losses.

Let's see if the Phillies can come close to that this year -- and let's also see how they stack up historically by the middle of this decade.

Trackbacks

Current Comments

This is a bit contradictory, don't you think?

This statement alone - "Both Braves’ staffs had three future Hall of Famers in Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz." - contradicts your other statement of "Look closely at the Phillies’ Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. None of them are automatics for the Hall of Fame."

Last time I checked, neither Maddux, Smoltz, nor Glavine were in the HOF. Until inducted, they are no more of a "lock" than the Phillies 4, or any other MLB pitcher for that matter.

Posted By: Grant | Dec 15, 2010 4:24:40 PM

Hello Grant
Good point except that Greg Maddux is a lock to join the Hall of Fame. He has 355 victories and four Cy Young Awards. Glavine has 305 victories, two Cy Young awards and 10 All-Star appearances. He is a lock as well. And Smoltz has 213 victories and would have had 50 more had he not became a closer for three years when he totaled an amazing 144 saves. All three are not yet eligible for the Hall of Fame vote. Maddux is first ballot. Glavine is probably first ballot. Smoltz might have to wait a bit but he will get in.

Posted By: Bill Kline | Dec 15, 2010 4:47:16 PM

I still prefer an article that sticks to the facts. Facts are, none of those guys are in the HOF at this point.

Prior to the drug controversy, would you have also said that Roger Clemens was a lock for the Hall? I certainly would have. Now look where he is...

Posted By: Grant | Dec 21, 2010 4:10:31 PM

Leave A Comment

The comments to this entry have been closed.

about the blog

SportsTalk is an all-in-one Sports Weblog of The Morning Call Sports Reporters. The blog will cover everything sports and more, from the Lehigh Valley and beyond.